On the afternoon of November 27, 2016, Professor Hu Baijing, Deputy Dean of the School of Journalism and Communication, gave a lecture on“New Media and Crisis Communication Management” in Room 0201, Mingfa Building. This lecture was hosted by Mr. Xu Guangjian, executive deputy dean of the School of Public Administration and Policy, and director of MPA Education Center.

This lecture mainly focused on four topics, namely opinion competition, relationship construction, valuesrecognition and dialogue rationality. He pointed out that crisis did not equal to emergencies, therefore crisis management was not a simple emergency handling. Things calming down does not equal to crisis being solved, since crisis may make long-term impacts. In this time of reform, new media not only serves as an information medium, but acts as a platform for relationship reconstructionwhich involves the reallocation of power, wealth, resources and interests. Living in a time of internet, we need to confront opinion competition and deal with it through dialogues. Then we are able to build a mutually equal relationship and reach mutually balanced values. Based on such reconstruction of the relationship, we may achieve values recognition. In the end, Professor Hu mentioned that crisis communication management should pay attention to dialogue rationality to avoid discordant voices, polarization, extreme moralization and extreme politicization.

In the lecture, Hu quoted a number of actual cases to explain his theory. A case of a Chinese superstar Lu Han was used to introduce the great influence of new media. The crisis management on Wenzhou train collision was quoted to testify the important role of attitude in the relationship construction. The most willful Chongqing anti-mover was cited to explain the significance of values recognition. When talking about “recognition, agreement, acceptance”, Professor Hu combined daily communication with professional terms, explaining the theories in easy-to-understand language. His lecture earned bursts of applause. The MPA students present understood the theory and methodology of crisis communication management in a relaxed atmosphere.